Tuesday, 30 September 2014

For me, this would be a pretty bland pack. But still some nice things with the appearance of the Winston-Salem Dash on the Courtney Hawkins. And there's my second black parallel of the break. I should get 2 or 3 per box.

And now, my only complaint about the set. One of those "enter a contest" cards actually counted as a card in the 9 card pack. And I can't even enter since I'm not a US resident (and even then, those in Hawaii and Alaska are also screwed). But I still love a couple of these cards for the alternate camo jersey on Cam Bedrosian (Yes, he is Steve's son) and the Riverdogs logo.

Only 1 more entry card to go. It is good to get one of the big draws of the set out of the way with the Correa. Other than that, this was a pack you'd love if you love red jerseys.

Another camo jersey here, this time for the El Paso Chihuahuas. Combined with a nice look at the cap logo for the team. In fact, I'm kinda tempted to grab a t-shirt with that logo on it. Lots of visible, unique logos here on some of the other teams as well, and I especially love how the San Antonio logo works with the logo. In the middle is a lime parallel. They aren't numbered, but fall at one per box. So, I'm guessing they're limited to about 50 each.

WOO-HOO! My second autograph, and it is of a Mets prospect! And it is limited to only 35 copies! Rob Whalen has put up some great numbers so far in A ball, going 9-1 with a 2.01 ERA this past year. He's also a lifelong Mets fan! What a great addition to my collection of Mets hits! And it doesn't appear that Whalen has any cardboard appearances prior to this one, making this an even nicer pull. They're even two more obvious Mets prospects lurking on the second row. And the Crosscutters to have a great jersey logo as well.

I knew the final pack wouldn't really compare, but 3 more Mets base cards weren't bad.

So, I've got the two autos out of the way, but I still have the relic to find in this box.

Monday, 29 September 2014

With the NHL season just over the horizon, time to do another one of these. This time, a 4 pack from COMC.

I have no idea if Tyler Plante is any relation at all to Jacques Plante. Given that Tyler is from Milwaukee, it is doubtful, but you never really know how a family tree will branch. But he salutes the pioneer of masks in this, a design that Carey Price would use a few years later during the Heritage Classic. Tyler never played a minute in the NHL, but like others before him, time spent on the bench as a backup was enough to earn a card.

If you are a Flyer, you might as well go with a Flyer on your mask. In this case, a slightly insane looking pilot.

When you're the first player born in Japan to reach the NHL, I guess you should have the rising sun on the chin portion of the mask. This does appear to be his only card where he's pictured with that style of mask, as the others seem to have a more regal version with his Manchester Monarchs AHL mask.

And finally, a classic from the 80s. I actually put this one in my inventory a day or two before picking up a more detailed ITG close up from the Decades 80s. But it is still a classic look, so why not have the mask in the binder twice.

Despite a 9 year career, this 1967 issue was Wahoo's only football card. Despite joining the Dolphins one year earlier, that still looks a lot more like a Jets than a Dolphins uniform. Wahoo would obtain more fame as a professional wrestler, which was the reason that I grabbed this card through the COMC Challenges. Even at $9, this card, with about 10 percent of the back obscured by stuck wax pack, was still cheaper than the issues from his wrestling career.

"I wish (Wahoo) was alive so I could dream about Daniel Snyder going up to him and calling him a Redskin. That would turn out well" - Phil Rippa at the Death Valley Driver Video Review

Sunday, 28 September 2014

As with the previous football edition, I went off to baseball reference, and headed to the birthplaces with only one or two people born there. Removing ones where the only player or players did not have reasonably priced cards, or ones without the birthplaces listed, these were the places on this world tour. I also didn't count guys I already had at least one card of. Sorry, Chito Martinez, Gerald Young and Tony Solaita (Belize, Honduras and American Samoa).

The Philippines! And it is an oddball as well, being a Mother's Cookies card.

Russia! Although there were 8 MLBers in history born there, Cole is the only player born there to have played since the 1930s.

Saudi Arabia! He's one of two, with the other being Alex Wilson. At the time, the only reasonably priced Wilsons at was his '13 Prizm. Since I knew those didn't have birthplaces listed, I didn't bother. Only for the write-up to cover that he was born in Saudi Arabia while his dad worked there. Oops. Next time.

Indonesia!

Vietnam!

Afghanistan!

And Singapore! All of these are 1 of 1s for being born in that particular country.

Saturday, 27 September 2014

I know I should get back to the box of Heritage Minors, but that can wait, seeing as I've already done two posts on this hockey card cube and am yet to make even a dent into it. I've already highlighted a pack of Zenith that contained the Beuce Boudreau auto, and the Kitchener Rangers and Owen Sound Attack alumni in the repack. Since the last one of these saw me start with the loose cards, I'll lead with the packs this time.

And since I did the first group of packs chronologically, these will go in reverse chronological order. Since I did technically lead with 10-11 Zenith.

As with the last time, these are also warped. So, here's the mask binder card in the Hebert. A nice group of HOFers in this pack, though.

Time to show off some stickers!

There was too much to list everything, but there were a trio of mask binder stickers in the 2008-09 stuff.

As for the 09-10, the highlight here was a quartet of Senators, and a second part of the 4 piece Wrigley puzzle that appeared in the last repack. I really should really hunt down the other two.

And now, the highlights from the random 55 cards.

There always seems to be a parallel in the group of cards - in this case, a red parallel of Toews. A slight bit of dinging in the corners, but I don't think 2*3 Heroes will complain when it ends up his way.

The photo war was won by Upper Deck, as can be expected, with a pair of trophies making appearances. Lord Stanley's Mug always looks spectacular on any card, and the Conn Smythe is lurking next to Malkin during a Stanley Cup post celebration.

Lots of mask binder stuff for both my binders - which I separate into pre and post 2005.

Only one Senators card in the mix - this Craig Anderson.

But, my personal fave in this binch was a second 2/14 card from Victory with this Milan Hejduk. My favourite base cards from this repack were both Victory issues. What are the chances?

So, there really was no need to ask Cards or Cube this time, as that had already been decided with the appearance of the Boudreau auto. But there was still enough in the rest of the content to give the nod to the card content, even without the auto.

Friday, 26 September 2014

Much as I'd love to end up with an autograph of David Wright or Matt Harvey, any auto for my Mets collection is a good one. And these here are a pair of nice autos for a Mets collector.

Anthony Young might be the most Mets pitcher of the miserable 90s. Putting up 27 straight decisions as losses can put you into that category. But, his certified auto has always been a want of mine for a bit now, and it was nice to add this one. It is probably that losing streak that made him such a want. It's so Mets. He's got an interesting way of making his signature more than just initials.

Barry Lyons was the backup catcher for the Mets through the late 80s. He earned a World Series ring via a few appearances in 1986, but lost it during Hurricane Katrina. Over the past, he's been part of a movement to bring minor league baseball to Biloxi, MS. His penmanship is spectacular, and it easily makes me overlook that this was a buyback product.

It is nice to add a couple autos of guys who really don't show up much at all anymore. Even though I'd figure that Young would be the type to show up in Archives in recent years.

Thursday, 25 September 2014

I picked the box up almost a week ago. Time to finally start showing off the goodies.

Here's the box. I always like seeing players on the packaging.

But since the pack of the flagship Heritage didn't have anyone on the packaging, it was nice to see it used on the Minors pack. And the photo isn't reused!

Pack 1 - OK. Time ot start digging into the packs. The first card out for me being a Met is a nice start for me in this break. Also a Blue Jay makes an appearance with the Dalton Pompey. Dalton just made his debut for the big club, and already has a home run and a highlight reel catch to his credit. And 1 of my 2 promised autographs as well. I was hoping that I'd build to those pulls. I was disappointed that the minor league logos aren't on the pennants in this design, but photos do allow for their appearances, such as on the Weickel.

Pack 2 - Not as much interesting stuff in this one, but I like seeing them fit the Flying Squirrels on the pennant. The Road to the Show cards also continue from last year. Although the logos are smaller than last year, I like that it is a road this year as opposed to just sticking the logos around a diamond like last year.

This would be a good time to show the backs of the cards. Considering the scratch off trivia didn't make the move last year from the majors to the minors, it is nice to see the cartoons move over this year. That isn't why I opted for this back though. It is because the write-up made me think of a Simpsons-ism.

Pack 3 - I guess the lack of minor league photos from 1965 make it unlikely that there would be baseball flashbacks featuring the Denver Zephyrs, so they adapted recent minor league highlights instead. The middle card was always the insert or SP card in the pack, but I put the flashback to the side for easier scanning. They were the only horizontal cards I pulled.

Pack 4 - My first SP of the break, with Marco being #205 in the set. I won't be building that, but will be hitting ship on my just commons soon to finish up the base.

Pack 5 - Some nice appearance of some minor league logos here, especially with the Missoula Osprey and the Ft. Wayne Tincaps. My second Blue Jays card of the break shows up with the Tirado.

Since most of the backs have to do with their minor league performance only, I do like the little bit of Ripken trivia on the back of the Shaffer.

Pack 6 - And just in time for his starting pitching debut, Daniel Norris makes an appearance. I like the empty bleachers behind the Hanson. It just seems so minor league. And appropriate, considering the set name. The black bordered cards make their first appearance. They are limited to an odd number of 105.

And there's the first 6 packs in the box. More to come over the next whenever.

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

I actually won a contest! This was one put on by the local radio station, and they offered up a free bus trip to and from Owen Sound for the Kitchener Rangers season opener, tickets in a suite, and enough food to satiate a small army. I put away enough pizza and chicken fingers/wings to really pity my terlet tomorrow.

I had a nice view as the Rangers continued their momentum from last season as they battled their way to a 6-1 loss. I was hoping to spot a team card set in the team store, but no dice. So, I'll head to the repack I pulled the Bruce Boudreau auto from earlier this week, and highlight the alumni of both teams I found within.

This was not in the repack. But, this did seem like an appropriate place to show off htis card. The Community Centre in which the game was played is named after Apple Cheeks Lumley. He made his NHL debut at 17 - the youngest ever for a goalie. That's one record that will likely never fall.

Since the Attack won handily, I'll lead with their cards. Just a pair though - both from the loose cards in the pack. Ward played 4 years for the team when they were known as the Platers and during their time as the Attack. Lewis spent one season there.

If the game came down to alumni content in the pack, then the Rangers would have squeaked it out, with a pair of loose cards and a sticker.

But, there was one more with ties to Kitchener. Al never played there. He only spent a few games in Belleville before moving up to the NHL. But, his son Max is a current member of the team. I think the only way he made the score sheet last night was via the sin bin.

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

For those awaiting the cards from my Heritage Minors box, I'm holding off for a bit. At least until a small envelope arrives containing the final card I need to finish the regular Heritage set. I want the one completed before I start adding the minors cards to the binder.

But, more hockey as I grabbed another one of those cards/stickers cube from Wally World. 6 packs (they advertised 5), along with 55 loose cards and 10 packs of stickers. The packs were 10-11 Zenith Hobby (visible), with the others being 1997 Pinnacle Certified, 1998 Choice, 2007 Victory, 2008 Choice and 2008 Victory. Only the 08 Victory differed from the last cube.

But this time I'm going to limit my content in this post to the Hobby pack of Zenith. While I have had better pulls this year from a repack in terms of book value, namely the Tavares Young Gun this one is definitely more unique.

When I opened the pack, a dummy card was quite obvious. I thought "Oh well. It isn't like I could have searched this anyhow." But I did see the corner of one of the cards to see I had landed a card numbered to 199.

I was even happier turning it over.

Now that's a unique subject for an autograph subset. Other subjects that would have been interesting pulls for me would have been current Bruins coach Claude Julien, or former Sens coach Jacques Martin. Especially since the latter featured a Heritage Classic photo.

If it possible for an auto to be an oddball, this would be as close as you can get without pulling a "fans of the game" auto.

Here's the back of the card. The expected recycled photo along with stats and a write-up.

That auto wasn't even the only numbered card I pulled. There was also this to #999. Byron has spent the last few seasons bouncing between the NHL and the AHL in the Calgary system.

And to complete things, the base.

At least with the auto, there will be no contest as to which was better this time around in the Cube vs. Cards contest.